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It's more than just Club Allure at stake—it's her safety and Asher's future too. And I'll burn down hell itself before I let Dexter or Brandon touch either of them again.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ETHAN
“I can't believethis is our reality now,” Kristine whispers.
She's standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows of my penthouse apartment. Her olive-green eyes hold the reflection of the night sky, a mirror to the chaos we've found ourselves in.
I move closer, feeling the pull of her presence like gravity. “We're in this together,” I assure her, my hand finding the small of her back. “It will be over soon.”
She turns to face me, her eyes searching mine for the certainty I've come to know she craves. “Thank you, Ethan.” Her words convey gratitude, but there's an undercurrent of fear I wish I could wash away.
The space between us is charged with an electric current, our bodies inches apart, but our souls entwined in an unspoken dance. The danger lurking beyond these walls only intensifies the connection between us, every glance and touch magnified by the stakes at play.
The horrific circumstances that engulf us seem to have created something exquisite.
I watch her silhouette against the city's neon glow, a beacon in the chaos of my life. It's strange to think how, just a shortwhile ago, she was a mere image on a monitor—another face among the crowds that fill Club Allure. Now, here she stands in flesh and blood, wrapped up in my world, and me in hers.
That first night, I saw her through a lens—a distance that's since collapsed under the weight of everything we've shared. Her resilience, her fire, it drew me in from the start. And as I stand here now, with her back pressing into my chest and my hand splayed across the warmth of her waist, I'm struck by how much she's changed me.
Her ex and our rival threaten the bond we've created, but she's shown me there's magic in stepping outside what you know. Because it was there, in the uncharted and unexpected, that I found her.
She's my chaos and calm all at once.
“Kristine,” I breathe out her name like a prayer.
Her head tilts back slightly to rest against my shoulder. “Ethan,” she replies softly, turning within my arms to face me.
Our noses nearly touch, her breath mingles with mine. In this moment of closeness, the world outside fades away.
I cup her cheek gently, tracing the line of her jaw with my thumb. Her eyes lock onto mine—those vast pools of olive green—and in them, I see the reflection of all we're up against. It's not just our hearts on the line, but our very lives.
A sense of urgency wraps around us like a thick fog as I consider our next move. Dexter and Brandon are out there plotting their next strike against us. The weight of this realization is crushing, yet having Kristine here makes it bearable.
“Whatever happens,” I tell her with an intensity that vibrates through every word, “I'll keep you safe.”
She nods against my hand, trust shining in her eyes even as they harbor shadows of worry. “I believe you.”
And that simple declaration fortifies me more than an army at my back ever could. We're in this together—a pact sealed not just by circumstance but by something deeper that has tangled our lives together irrevocably.
It's astonishing how life can shift on its axis so completely because of one person stepping into your orbit. She is my unexpected twist—a curveball thrown at me when I least expected it.
But isn't that where life happens? In those unplanned moments that sneak up on you when you're looking elsewhere?
Kristine is proof of that—the embodiment of every risk worth taking.
I lean down to press a kiss to her forehead—an affirmation of everything unspoken between us—and feel her relax into me. Whatever comes next for us is unknown territory, but if there's one thing Kristine has taught me it's that in these spaces outside your comfort zone is where life truly begins to unfold.
So here we stand at the precipice of everything that terrifies us both—but we stand together—and that makes all the difference.
“Tell me what you're thinking,” I urge gently, wanting her to lay bare her thoughts so I can share their weight.
Kristine hesitates for a moment before her defenses crumble. “It's Asher... and this battle with Brandon. I'm terrified of losing my son.” The pain in her voice cuts through me sharper than any knife could.
I cup her cheek in my palm, thumb caressing away the sorrow etched on her elegant face. “You won't lose him. Not while I'm here.”
I find strength in Kristine's vulnerability. It's a strange mirror to my own past—a reminder of the times I felt helpless, wishing someone would have seen the turmoil beneath my surface.
